Timonist

T1I1M3O1N1I1S1T1
/ˈtaɪmənɪst/

noun

A sort of bitter misanthrope related to Timonism, like Timon of Athens.

Similar
TimoneanTimonian
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Meanings

nounTimonist (plural Timonists)

plural Timonists

  1. A sort of bitter misanthrope related to Timonism, like Timon of Athens.

    I did it to retyre me from the vvorld; / And turne my Muſe into a Timoniſt, […]

    1601 (first performance), Thomas Dekker, Satiro-mastix. Or The Untrussing of the Humorous Poet. […], London: […] [Edward Allde] for Edward White, […], published 1602, →OCLC, signature L3, recto
    2 more examples

    Yet was he not … such a Timonist, but hee would familiarly conuerse with his friends. [sic]

    1590, Robert Greene, Greene's Mourning Garment

    Cynicism is often contrasted with "Timonism" (cf. Shakespeare's Timon of Athens). Cynics saw what people could be & were angered by what they had become; Timonists felt humans were hopelessly stupid & uncaring by nature & so saw no hope for change.

    1988, Paul Ollswang, "Cynicism"
adjectiveTimonist (comparative more Timonist, superlative most Timonist)

comparative more Timonist · superlative most Timonist

  1. Of a form of bitter misanthropy related to Timonism, like Timon of Athens.

    Marston poses as the Timonist malcontent satirist ready to excoriate the world for its follies.

    1988, Maurice Charney, Hamlet's fictions

    Synonyms: Timonean, Timonian

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf a form of bitter misanthropy related to Timonism, like Timon of Athens.

Similar
TimoneanTimonian
Also see
timoneantimonian

Origin

From Timon + -ist, after the 5th-century-BCE person Timon of Athens (as described by Plutarch, Lucian, and Aristophanes). Used by Robert Greene in his Greene's Mourning Garment (1590). (William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens is usually estimated c. 1607 and would not have influenced Greene; however, some consider the play could be one of Shakespeare's earliest, and could then have been Greene's source.)

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French timoniste, Timoniste
  • timonistesort of bitter misanthrope
  • Timonistesort of bitter misanthrope
  • timonisteOf a form of bitter misanthropy
  • TimonisteOf a form of bitter misanthropy
Cite this entry
APA

Timonist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Timonist

MLA

“Timonist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Timonist. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Timonist,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Timonist.

Source: Timonist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.